Slain Woman Was A Fighter, Relatives Say

ORANGE CITY -- Lucienne "Lucy" Northern wasn't a woman who backed down from a fight.

An ironworker and roofer, Northern, 38, spent much of her time constructing tall buildings throughout Florida, relatives said.

Her friends said she could easily fight a man, especially if she had been drinking.

But Saturday night, Northern's fighting spirit wasn't enough.

Volusia County sheriff's officials say Gregory J. Duvall left her lying in a pool of blood in a parking lot after the pair fought over a bar tab at Dale's Ales about 8:30 p.m.

"She wouldn't back down to nobody," said Mike Toucheck, Northern's brother-in-law. "She didn't deserve to die the way she did."

Duvall, 29, sped from the scene in a black Jaguar after another bar patron tried to confront him, police said.

Duvall was being held Monday without bail in the county branch jail in Daytona Beach after his first appearance before a judge. He was arrested on charges of second-degree murder.

Duvall was convicted in 2000 in a DUI case in which he pleaded no contest.

An autopsy was performed on Northern's body Monday, but authorities did not release the results. According to the Sheriff's Office report, Northern suffered a severe puncture wound to her chest and a cut on her arm.

Northern and Duvall shared drinks at one pub before meeting at Dale's Ales in Orange City, according to the report. They had food and drinks together and then argued over the bill as bartender Angela Schmidt and several other customers looked on. Eventually, Duvall used his credit card to pay, and the two left the bar.

Moments later, another patron rushed into the bar saying that a woman was lying in a pool of blood in the parking lot, Schmidt told police.

That patron had gone outside to try to confront Duvall about driving drunk and said he saw Northern and watched Duvall speed away.

Investigators tracked down Duvall at his home in DeBary using information from his credit-card receipt. They found him with a fresh wound on his right arm and dried blood under his fingernails.

According to the report, Duvall said he had been with Northern earlier that night and that the two had argued before leaving the bar. She slapped him, he said.

Northern's brother-in-law said that sounded like Lucy, who was an attractive redhead who loved to watch mysteries on the Lifetime network and had two teenage children living out of state.

"She got to drinking, she was OK till somebody messed with her. Anybody messed with her and the fight was on," Toucheck said.

"She was an all-around good person," Toucheck said. "She had one free spirit . . . tough as nails."